It is hard for people who don't have a child from hard places to understand,
what goes through the mind of a child.
Actually, it is hard for a parent who has a child with a hard, hard history
to understand what is going through the mind of their child.
But this I know,
it is their pain,
it is their hurts,
it is their emotions,
it is their healing!
There are many times that we are reminded to make sure
our boys have their skin oiled so that their beautiful African skin
is healthy.
Or that their hair is just so.
I truly understand the need for this!
but,
my boys don't and they don't always want to be oiled up
or lotioned up!
Because they have their personal reasons -
and I have to respect that.
I have a daughter who cries every summer because she has,
what we thought, a beautiful tan.
But in her mind, this was horrible!
She cries and scrubs her skin to get the tan off.
All in all,
this is who they are -
hard times and all.
But helping them be comfortable in their own skin is what we are working on.
I appreciate concern from others about my Ethiopian boys hair
and skin -
but please know that sometimes
the bigger issues is a lot deeper then their skin.
2 comments:
Oh, amen! While we want to teach them good hygiene they sometimes are fighting things in the past that we cannot teach through until that part of them is healed....someday they will be in a better place where they will actually believe they are worth having beautiful skin and they are precious and treasured...someday!
A note to the Anderson children & their "skins":
Hi! My name is Faith & your Mama is my cousin (her Daddy and my Mommy are brother & sister). I always disliked my skin growing up because I have FRECKLES!!!! ALL over my body - my face, my arms, my legs - pretty much everywhere!! So I have white skin and brown polka dots on me! I scrubbed and scrubbed at them to get those spots to go away, but they never did. One day I realized that this is the way God made me and He doesn't make mistakes - everything He makes is PERFECT! We used to sing a song when I was little, in Sunday School: Jesus loves the little children, ALL the children of the world: red and yellow, black and white, ALL are precious in His sight....Jesus loves the little children of the world! THAT was when I realized that we all have different skin - some are tanner than others, some are whiter, some are very dark black, some are brown, but we are ALL His children! So now I no longer "hate" my freckles, but thank Jesus for making me the way I am! I hope one day you all will see that even though all of us are different in one way or another, Jesus loves us all just the same! And I love you too! :-)
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